President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Ukrainians not to let anger at the war overwhelm them at a service in Kyiv this weekend. delegation since Russia began its invasion. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin plan to visit Kyiv on Sunday, in the highest-ranking visit to Ukraine by a U.S. In Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison joined a Greek Orthodox Easter service in Sydney with Greece’s Minister for Culture, Lina Mendoni, on Saturday night, according to the Greek Reporter. It is traditionally blessed by a priest before it is eaten.Īround the world this year, different countries have celebrated the holiday with varying events. Slavic countries often eat Kulich, a sweet bread made to celebrate Easter and the coming of spring. Celebrants also dye hard-boiled eggs red to celebrate the blood of Christ. In Greek tradition, Orthodox Easter is marked by a church service followed by a large meal with family, often including roasted lamb as the main dish to represent Christ's sacrifice. Russia, Ethiopia and Ukraine have the largest national Orthodox populations, and the country with the highest percentage of Orthodox Christians is Moldova, at 95%, according to the Pew Research Center.Ībout 78% of Ukrainian adults were found to be Orthodox Christians through the survey, while Russian adults were about 71% Orthodox Christian. Most of the world’s approximately 260 million Orthodox Christians live in Central and Eastern Europe, and an additional 15% live in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a 2015-16 Pew Research Center study. Greek Orthodox Easter marks the end of "Great Lent" a 40-day period of fasting from Clean Monday until "Pascha," Easter Sunday. While the holiday often falls on a different date than Easter Sunday, both Christian festivals celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, and serve as the most important date on their respective religious calendars. Orthodox Christians in Europe, Africa and the Middle East celebrate Easter on the later date, determined by the older Julian calendar.
Many spring religious holidays have landed on later dates than typical this year: Passover didn't begin until the evening of April 15, and Easter Sunday fell on April 17 for the first time in 62 years. Here is more about the holy day observed by millions around the globe: Orthodox Easter, often referred to as "Greek Easter," is celebrated by Eastern Christians to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ and typically includes painted eggs, symbolic food traditions such as lamb and church services. “We’ll celebrate Easter no matter what, no matter much horror,” said Kateryna Lazarenko, 68, in the northern village of Ivanivka outside Chernihiv, where ruined Russian tanks still littered the roads. Residents of rural villages battered by the war approached the holiday with some defiance. Orthodox Christians in Europe, Africa and the Middle East celebrated Orthodox Easter on Sunday. But for those living in Ukraine, the holiest day on the Christian calendar was muted by a withering conflict this year.Īs Ukrainians entered the ninth week of a war with Russia, the majority Orthodox Christian population there marked the holiday with prayers for those risking their lives and fearing for their safety in the country.